Outlining

These last few weeks have been a little weird. They’ve gone by quite quickly, but this lat week in particular has also dragged out somewhat. But’s thats because I’ve got a week off this week, and the week always drags before I have time off.

I’ve not got as much done this week as I’d have liked. My plans last Sunday to get the outline of a zombie story transferred to Scrivener after I’d done some editing didn’t happen, so I’ve been working on that this week. I’ve massively underestimated just how long it was going to take to transfer the data over. I thought I’d be able to just copy and paste most of it but I’m having to work on the outline and go into more detail with it. On the plus side I think it’s making the outline stronger. I’d really like to be ready to start writing this story tomorrow.

Aside from that I’ve been working on an outline for another Assembly story, which I’d like to think is almost done. It’s beginning to feel like I’m near completion.

All of this still feels like it’s going slow, but I’m reminding myself this is part of a process that’ll hopefully help the process of writing.

Well, another week has passed and I’ve not done a lot of writing, but I have been writing. Monday was the first time I’ve written anything since the 8th of February. Since then I’ve only missed two days writing and have written 2716 words for the month so far (does a little dance).

The main project is the fanfic edit/rewrite. I spent almost all of last Sunday creating a Scrivener file and then getting the scenes I’ve got written in order and adding the notes to them that I’ve made and then figuring out what I need to add to make it work. The first chapter is rewritten and I’ll be moving on with it today.

I have started on the short story I mentioned last Sunday. I’m not sure where it’s going, but I’m enjoying writing from the hip. I have learnt the lesson that I need an outline, but with shorter pieces I think I can indulge and pretend I don’t have to outline.

That’s the lot for now. I’m off to make some progress on this fanfic piece. I am still surprised with how much I am learning from working on this. I know I’ll never be able to publish it, and I knew that from the first word and I am very cool with it. I just wish I’d taken the plunge with fanfic sooner.

I managed to finish off the basics of the character details on the zombie story I’m outlining. It may seem a simple thing but each character now has a name and a fair few details about who they are and what their backgrounds are. I’ve just now figured out the next stage in this outlining and that is to decide what each character’s role in the story will be. I know what three characters will be doing in the story for definite, the rest I need to sit down and figure out how they play their parts.

No words today though. I went to the cinema to see Free Fire (an awesome movie) this evening so that took up a chunk of my time.

I’m going to call it a night now, and read a chapter or two of David Wellington’s Monster Island.

I’ve written 1493 words on this Fan Fiction piece tonight, and damn was it fun! This was the first writing I’ve done since the 8th of February. In that time I have done a little outlining and have editing two novella length pieces.

I’m a little surprised at how much easier it was to write those words with the outlining notes I’ve got. Considering how hard I found the outlining process for The Space Watch, I’m feeling optimistic about outlining in the future. I think with The Space Watch some of the problem I had was that it is a story Owen and I have been working on for a long time and maybe I was a little tired of it. Although I do think it’s turned out well. Another problem I think I was having was that I was trying to be too in-dpeth with it. With the outline I’ve been working on for this zombie piece I’ve not tried to do a chapter-by-chapter outline. Instead I’ve just written what happens in the story, and created the characters for the story.

When I was talking to Scott Sigler and A Kovacs a couple of weeks ago I spoke to both, briefly, about outlining and A said that Scott’s early outlines wouldn’t be very long, but his most recent book the outline is around the eighty page mark and much more detailed. I think that was what I was doing wrong; trying to put too much into the outline before I was ready too. It’s like when Owen and I were trying to get Project Apollo written, we weren’t ready to write a story that was as long or complex as that one is. The pieces I’m working on now are less complicated but I think the more that I outline the more complex they’ll get because I’ll be getting more experience with doing them.

In addition to the words I’ve written today I’ve done some work on the zombie story outline, not much but I’ve got some more work done on the characters. Aside from some character details I’m not sure how much more I need to add to this outline, but once I’ve finished these last few character bits I’ll leave it for a little while until I’ve finished work on this Fan Fiction piece. Once I’ve done that I’ll look to start writing the zombie piece.

I am going to try and get back into blogging daily. I find it quite motivating, which I think is good for me.

A few times I’ve said here that I’ve got to stop diving in head first into writing a story as soon as the idea pops into my head. I always run out of steam when I do this, always. Outside of short stories, I can’t wing-it. That’s what I’ve done with Penal Earth, and the same thing that happens all the time happened. I ran out of steam, I got stuck and I couldn’t write my way out of it.

Lesson Learnt.

Now, I’m working on a zombie story that I’ve been playing with for some time now. It’s not one that I have tried to write yet, simply because I couldn’t find a feel for it. The other day I got a snippet of an idea for it and since then I’ve been making notes and trying to figure out a timeline. I’m not sure I’m going to do a chapter by chapter outline for it. I did this with The Space Watch, and it was one of the most crushing experiences I’ve had as a writer. I had no intention of doing that again, but I’m not going to close that door just yet, it may be a case that with The Space Watch I found it hard because its a story that’s been written a few times and I was kind of done with it at that time. It felt very much like a chore, and it wasn’t until I’d began to write it and I deviated from the outline that I really got stuck into it.

I’ve got a pretty good idea of how the story starts, but I’m also thinking about putting together strong characters. I’ve already got a few bits and pieces of the people who seem to be building up to be the main characters from the outlining that I’ve been doing, but I need to sit down and get some work done on those individuals and those around them. I’ve also had some good ideas about the state of the world as a whole.

This zombie piece is just one of a few projects I’m working on outlines for. Owen and I have a lot we are looking at doing in the next couple of years, and I’ve got solo projects that I’m quite excited about but I’ve got to get this outlining lark, down. If I don’t then I’m just going to keep running out of steam and repeating the same mistakes time and time again.

Today has been a decent day. I wrote a little over 2000 words, spent some time brainstorming, and worked a little on an outline.

I should have done some more work on typing up notes for the Apollo universe bible. That is something that I really need to get wrapped up in the next couple of weeks. I don’t think it’ll take long to get it done once I get rolling with it.

This is something that tips me back towards getting a new white board and using is as a to-do list; because I keep forgetting to do some of these other things that I need to stop forgetting. I’ve got four or five things I need to do that have been waiting for my attention for far too long and I’d like to get some of those cleared off.

I have also been thinking about my second vampire book, and I think I’ve got a good idea of how to move forward with it now. It needs some more thinking though.

Right, I’m winding down for the evening. Hopefully this coming week I’ll be able to pick up my momentum a little.

I think this Sunday is going to be an odd one for what I manage to get done. I’ve got my Grandad and my great aunt/Godmother coming over for dinner today. Dad and I will also take down an old shed that’s in our garden, where it currently stands is where we want to place a new henhouse, so it has to come down. I’m not expecting that to take too long though. We’re actually going to dismantle it as opposed to knock it down with sledge hammers.

I think it’ll be this evening that I get the bulk of my writing done though as I’ll be being social (okay come about 2:30 I may come upstairs and write whilst listening to the football 😉 ) But I’ll have my iPad downstairs with me and I’ll be able to get some plotting, outlining and brainstorming down whilst downstairs. I’ll probably do a little comic book reading too. I’m lucky in that I can multitask like that but I can’t write in those circumstances. I am still aiming for a 2000 word day as well as getting some outlining done for a novella I want to write in 2015.

That’s how my day is looking like it’s shaping up, and by the end of the day hopefully it’ll have been as productive as I’m hoping it will be.